Questions, Trivia & More from the Community

Today’s question comes from the north!

Why do Hockey Coaches dress up in suits for games? Why are they so fancy/look like Mighty Ducks Villains? – Audrey from Maine

Great question Audrey! I wish I had a more definitive answer but from what I can find there is no formal rule. But in an interesting aspect of sporting history, hockey tradition and NHL standards have kept coaches wearing suits as an unspoken rule of Olympic Hockey.

Hockey was first an Olympic sport in the 1920 Antwerp games and you can see from the picture above, suits were part of Hockey over 100 years ago! Also, don’t some of the hair-dos look surprisingly modern, fun to see.

Jump forward 60 years and you can see our favorite USA Hockey Coach rocking a very fun suit behind the bench. Suits still going strong in the 80s. Thanks Herb!

Jump to the 90s when wearing a suit officially became a regular part of the NHL player’s agreement for pregame and travel. And if the players are getting fancy, the coaches can’t slack off. (Except for the Winter Classic).

Audrey’s question arose from the USA-Germany game where the German coach, Toni Söderholm, and his coaching staff decided to go full-blown villain and extra fancy with a vest. Which one is a screenshot from Mighty Ducks 2 and which one is a screenshot from the Olympics? It’s almost impossible to tell!

Toni is from Finland originally, came to North America for college and then returned to Finland to play professionally. So he is definitely going to be familiar with The Mighty Ducks, and hockey traditions in general.

The US coaches are going with a little more color, a little less bond villain. I would like to see a little more American-themed ties or suits but can’t win them all.

As almost every other sport (NBA is one of the major exceptions) has lost the ties on the sidelines I’m guessing Hockey coaches are going to hold firm and keep this unique part of hockey tradition alive. Or Gritty will get them….